Is Tesla Under-Selling Its Cars’ Performance?

While Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) has been accused of many things, under-selling was never one of them. Yet a recent story in Drag Times claims the luxury electric car maker is underestimating its 0-60 potential. The speed demons on the Drag Times staff recently ran their own tests with a Model S 60 kWh vehicle, bringing in results that might make Elon Musk and company revise their promotional materials.

Tesla has several versions of the Model S. Drag Times used the base model, a car with a 60 kWh battery that Tesla says produces 302 hp with 317 ft-lbs. of torque. The company claims the car goes 0-60 in 5.9 seconds, yet the Drag Times team ran three straight tests in which the S 60 went 0-60 in 5.1 seconds. Their team tested their car (with no performance package installed) with a full battery charge. It went 0-100 in 12.8 seconds, which also beat Tesla’s time.

Tests by the same team have revealed better results than what Tesla claimed its cars can do. When the tester kept digging, he saw the Model S 60 was showing 240 kW at the top end of its power measurement. Tesla has the power maxed out on 225 kW. Is Tesla gaming the system or actually underestimating its cars’ power?